question about a maine coon..

orientalslave

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Ronnie is a beautiful cream semi-longhair non-pedigree.  From the photo and from a postition of ignorance (not my breed) I'd say he looks a bit more like a Norway Forest Cat than a Maine Coon.  However both those are natural breeds from similar climates (so is the Siberian) so yes, non-pedigree cats that look a bit (or sometimes a lot) like them keep cropping up.

He is a lovely cat.
 

redvelvetone

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quick question: what is the difference between long hair and semi long hair? (like how long does hair have to be to be long hair, vs. semi long hair?)
 

mezie

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He could be a mix! Two of my cats have many of the personality, looks, attributes of Maine Coons but because they were strays I'll never know for sure. Most people who see them go "Oh what lovely Maine Coons" (happened last night in fact) but I'm quick to say "uhhh, maybe."

No matter what, Cartman looks like a charmer and if you think he might have a little Maine Coon in him, then why not. I think that way about my older two and don't give a toot if they really are or not. Because I love them either way.
Hi.         .if interested I have a book on Maine Coons. I purchased it at the pet store. If interested I will gave the title.... maybe you can acquire a copy..M.
 

northernglow

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quick question: what is the difference between long hair and semi long hair? (like how long does hair have to be to be long hair, vs. semi long hair?)
Genetically there is no difference between them, but the way they look, usually Persian is the only breed considered as a longhair and other genetically longhairs are called medium hairs (in some registries/areas).
 

redvelvetone

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Ok thanks, so a "regular" "silky" long hair is a semi-longhair unless it's a Persian (with the more plush / poofy hair....
 

maewkaew

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 I just have to say,  what a bunch of beautiful cats in the photos in this thread.  Cartman and  Ronnie and Nekochan's cats.

]

 Cartman  ( who has a pattern called Brown Mackerel Tabby and White) , to me actually  in some ways reminds me a little of some of the foundation cats of the Norwegian Forest Cat breed.     Not that I'm saying he's part that breed,  but as Oriental Slave says,  the 3 Northern "forest cat" breeds -- the NFC, Maine Coon and Siberian were all developed from "natural breeds"  (and it's possible that they are distantly related )  ,  and in any case,  there are still a lot of random-bred cats who do resemble these breeds in some way.   though with unknown ancestry one can't really say they're the breed.  ( but if a cat very much resembled the breed AND came from the place of the breed's origin, then one could call it a native cat of that breed  ( and at least in some registries,  NFCs and Siberians from the area of origin can still be used in breeding programs.)

Ronnie ,  the Cream Classic Tabby,  IMO does not strongly resemble any of  those breeds, but has some characteristics  of each of them.   The very long body is more like a MC but he doesn't otherwise resemble them.  and the head looks somewhere between the other 2 breeds.   

They are just their own unique selves.

  You can't really tell by size .   A relative of mine had some huge Domestic Longhairs in the 1980s  and I'm sure these days with Cats 101 someone would be telling her they must be Maine Coons.  (LOL, and especially the tabby since he had the  M....   I still can't believe Cats 101 made such an idiotic error as to say one of the most common markings in cats  was a sign a cat is a specific breed  ) but they were just random- bred rural cats  and she was nowhere near Maine.      

 Also with weight,    people often quote their cat's weight,  thinking it might be a sign they are a Maine Coon, or Ragdoll , but 1) domestics do come in a wide variety of sizes,  and 2) often the cat is several pounds over what their ideal weight would be so the weight is even less significant.
 

orientalslave

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the 3 Northern "forest cat" breeds -- the NFC, Maine Coon and Siberian were all developed from "natural breeds" (and it's possible that they are distantly related )
I fell it would be very distant as in 'are domestic cats' - after all there is considerable geographical separation between Maine, Norway and Siberia!

To me they are a great example of convergent evolution - different populations of cats all arriving at the same solution to survival in a cold environment.  They are all on the large size, slow maturing and have warm winter non-matting coats with a luxurious tail they can use as a duvet to keep their faces and paws warm when asleep.
 

catprincess

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be sure to know maine coons are long stalky breeds they dont stand tall. they have huge ears and big paws. I'm sure some of these cats are mixed with a little maine coon, but of course there is no way to 100% know. When I got my rescue from the shelter the had him down as a Maine Coon Mix.
 

orientalslave

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Thinks I'd prefer to think of it as 'some of those cats are mixed with cats that are the sort of cat the Maine Coone was selected from'.
 

nekochan

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  You can't really tell by size .   A relative of mine had some huge Domestic Longhairs in the 1980s  and I'm sure these days with Cats 101 someone would be telling her they must be Maine Coons.  (LOL, and especially the tabby since he had the  M....   I still can't believe Cats 101 made such an idiotic error as to say one of the most common markings in cats  was a sign a cat is a specific breed  ) but they were just random- bred rural cats  and she was nowhere near Maine.      

 Also with weight,    people often quote their cat's weight,  thinking it might be a sign they are a Maine Coon, or Ragdoll , but 1) domestics do come in a wide variety of sizes,  and 2) often the cat is several pounds over what their ideal weight would be so the weight is even less significant.
Yes, that is a good point. Also not all Maine Coons are huge, although they are generally long and large-boned, the size/weight can vary quite a lot within the breed-- they're not all 20 pound "monsters", some may only weigh 10 or 13 pounds.
 
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